Machine-gun



(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 JAH. MQLBMI.- MACHINE GUN.

Patented Aug. 7, 1883.

(No Model.)

J- H. MCLEAN,

MACHINE GUN.

No. 282,553. Patented Aug. 7, 1888.

4 sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) 'J H. MCLBAN.

MACHINE GUN. No. 282,553.r PatenteduApug. 7, 1883.

VW r (gf c 4 Shets-Sheet 3.

J. H. MGLEAN.

MACHINE GUN.

No. 282,553. Patented Au 7, 1883.

wf y@ g Wfwm Mmmm 4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

mwlfrwimmw .a citizen of the United UNITED STATES Parana* @ariela MACHINE-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming parl: of Letters Patent No. 282,558, dated August; 7, 1883.

Application tiled February 28, 1881. (No model.)

vTo all whom, it may concern.;

Be it known that l, JAMEs HENRY MCLEAN, States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented improvements in Machine-(luns7 ot' which the following is a specitieation.

My gun, in its preferred form, is constructed with a horizontal range of barrels, interposed magazines or feeding-hoppers, ahorizontallymovingV chambered breech-slide for receiving cartridges from the feeders and conducting them to. iiring position in rear of the barrels, rear supports which receive the empty cartridgeshclls to gage the entrance of the next cartridges, a positive feeding mechanism, and

"a cooking mechanism operated simultaneously therewith; or automatic-sprin g magazines may be used also with a tiring mechanism which may be 'operated by the device employed to limpartthe required reciprocating motion to the chambered breech-slide.

The invention further relates to providing the cartridge-shell with a serpentine groove tolpermit expansion in firing.

In order that my invention may be full v understood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which f t Figure l is a plan, partly in horizontal scction, of the loading mechanism of the gun. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the breech-slide and its accessories, on the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a vertical section ofthe loading mech auism, on a smaller scale, on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. lLis a rear view, showing the operation of the tiring mechanism. Fig. 5 isa plan illus- 'trating a modification in construction ol' the loading mechanism. Fig. o' is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of the breech, illustrating an oblique-motion slide. Fig. is a vertical scc tion, also in a plane longitudinal to the breech, illustrating a vertically-moving slide. Fig. il is avertical sect-ion on a larger scale, in a plane at right angles to that in Figs. 7 and 8-that 'is to say, transverse to the breech and paral- -lel with the barrels-illustrating a reciprocating loading mechanism adapted for ns'c with either avertically or an obliqindil moving slide.

arts et' the stationary frame or breech of the gun. are shown at 'l l. 2 2 arethe barrels, and 3 3 feeding troughs or magazines arranged alternately between the same. They mayv be zontally in the planeet' the barrels or parallel therewith to 'a sutlcient distance to cont-ain the required number of cartridges7 or may be provided with vert ical feeding-holpers l, Fig. 3. ,lhe b1'eecli-slide 5 is constructed with chambers correspending` in distance asundcr with the barrels 22, and adapted in its reciprocating movements to receive successive carA tridges o' from the feeders 3 and coinluctthem to firing position in rearol' the barrels. Figs. Sand 5 show the slidc-chamlnns in loading` position in rear of the feeders l, and Fig. ,l shows them in tiring position in rear ofthe barrels.

rlhe reciprocating movement of thc breeclr slide may be imparted in various ways. ,l

and having a segment', S), gearing with a rack, 10, onthe rear face ofthe slide o. lll. is a narrow support' extending backward from the rcar face of the breech-slide to a length corresponding exactly with that of the cart idges and of the slide-chamlna's prepared to receive them. The cartridges are formed, as shown,` with a casing. which may he. et' paper, and with a ball whose pointV does not extend bevond the front end of the cartridge-msc. the empty shell, one of which is shown at ti, is thus of precisely the same length as the loaded eartridgc, and as cach ncw cartridge is drawn back into the slide it eiectstlte empty shell ti", and thc latter, abutting ainsi thc rcar :end ofthe support ll7 serves as an accurate gage or stop for the entering cartridge. One form of nl v llft'ding apparatus is shown in Fig. l5, consisting ol' an endless chain, l2, carryingv bars lil, which are iixcd to the said chain at a. distance asnndcr precisely corresponding with the length ofthe cartridges, and are armed with .studs l-t, adapted, as shownin Fig. il, to engage with the front ofthe cartridge and pass backward thi-nigh a longitudinal groovc in thc licor in" t he Welling-trough 3, and carry the said cart ridgc baci; a distance eqn-alto lsown length7 when it is stopped b v the empty connected with nmgazinei uhcs cxtendinghori have shown at 7 a hand-lcver fulcrumed at S,

IOO

shell 62 before referred to, forming a gage for the cartridge which enters the slide, one or more cartridges intervening between that which is acted on directly bythe Vfeeder and that which is forced into the slide. In the present illustration I have shown one such iutervening cartridge, as this is sutlicient to al low for the thickness of the stationary parts of the frame and permit the complete introduction ofthe cartridgewithin theslide-ehamber, so that the slide may be free to move.

The endless chain 12 is carried by pulleys 15 on a shaft, 16, actuated by an endless driv ing-chain, 17, which engages with a drivingpulley, 18, Fig. 1, keyed on said shaft- 16, the said endless chain 17 being driven by pulley or sprocket-wheel19,(olf equal diameter to the pulley 13,) carried by a shaft, 20, which receives one-half a revolution at each feed movement by means of one ot' the hand-bars, 21 2l, said ha1nl-bars being also adapted to engage with collars 22 on the tiring-pins 2b', through the medium of a handbar, 29, engaging with the said collars 22, and draw them back into cocked position, where they are held by triggers 2l 24, catching into suitable notches in said firing-pins, after the manner described in an earlier application made by myself and My ron Goloney `iointly.

As described in the above-named application, the tiring-pins are provided with grooves 25, which taper or shoal backward, so as, in the forward stroke ofthe tiring-pins, to press upward the heel ofthe next trigger 2st, which rests in said shoaling-groove 25, and thus releases the next pair ol' iiring-pins and discharges all the barrels in rapid succession.

'The middle arms, 24, engage at their inner ends with a trigger-slide, 24", which is provided with oblique faces at itslower and outer ends. A hand lever, 7, for operating the breech-slide, engages at each end of its stroke with the oblique faces of the slide 24, and releasing the heels of trigger-arms 24 from the tiring-pins 23 starts the operation of firing just described. ,y

-A modification of the feeding apparatus is shown in Fi 5 and 6, in which. 5 represents the teedingslide, as before, and 3 the .feeding-trough; but instead of the endless chain 1 2 and, its accessories, I employ reciprocating' plnngers 26, connected by rods 27 28 with a hand-bar, 29, vadapted to engage with the cellar 22 on the tiring-pins 23, so as to effeet the loading and coking simultaneously, as before described. Springs 30 restore the plungers 26 and their accessories to their forward positions as soon as the hand-bar 29 is released, and carry the latter out of the way of the collars 22 of the iringpins, lleaving said pins in readiness for the discharge.

In Fig. ,7 my reciprocating slide Seis shown as adapted for an oblique motion, by which the charge from a magazine, either above or below a certain barrel, is carried to tiring position vin real; ot' a barrel on encor theol-her side thereof, as the ease may be. This oblique motion maybe imparted by any adequate mechanism. For illustration, I have shown racks 3lA 31, rigidly attached to the slide 5 in lines parallel with its motion, and actuated by pinions 32 32 on shafts Si 33, on which are arms 34, (see Fig. 9,) connected by a bar, 35, moved horizontally in alternate di rect-ions by a hand-lever, 7 1, connected to the bar 35 by t. slot, 36, and stud 37.

In Fig. 8 I have shown the slide having a vertical. motion, so as to take cartridges to loading position from feeders directly above and below the respective barrels.

Bot-h Fi 7 and S show 1nagazine-fetnlers4 4t for the respective ranges of magazines 3,3, feeders 4 being conductedbetween the upper magazines, 3, -and the barrels to thc lower range oi" magazines, 32

In Fig. t) is shown an enlarged Vertical section longitudinal to the barrels, and serving to illustrate either form` of the iiwention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and also illustrating a reciprocating mechanism adapted to load the ear tridges above and below the barrels alternately. For this purpose I employ, in connection With the upper andlower pln ngers, 26, rods 3S, connected at their inner endsto said plungers and Y at their outer ends to links 35"', which'in turn are connected tothe extremities of a rock-arm, 39, secured to a rock-shaft, 40. This rock-shaft rcceives its motion from the han d-bar 29 through the medium of rods 27 and arms 41.

The fcedin g apparatus and some other parts lor" my invent-ion are applicable to some ofthe various forms and styles of machine-guns and shoulder-guns constituting parts of my combined system of arms described inv various applications heretofore made and to be made by me and by Myron (loloney, assigner to myself.

At 3S b, Fig. 1, I have shown a serpentine crease in the cartridge-shell to impart elasticity to it and render it expansible in the act of firing. I hereby reserve to myself the lright to make separate application for Letters Iatent Vfor this construction.

Having thus described my invention, the` following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A machine-gun constructed with a horizontal range of barrels and a horizontal range of magazines or feeders, the said magazines bef ing interposed between the said barrels, and extending from the rear line of said barrels to or beyond the front line thereof.

2. The combination, with the pulleys 19 15 18, chains 17 and 1 2, the latter being' provided with stops 4, of the slotted cartridge chambers or maga-zines 3, the chamber-ed breech-slide 5, and the rear supports, 11, as and for the purA poses described.

3. In a machine-gun, the combination of a series of barrels` a series of interposed magazine chambers, a reciprocating chambered lneech-slide, a rear support for receiving the IIO empty cartridge-shells, and an endless chain provided with stops, and serving as a feed for the cartridges from the magazines to the breech- Slide, and thence to the rear support, substantially as set forth. L

4. The combination, With shaft 20, carrying pulley 19 and arms 21, the sliding hammers 23, having shoulders or collars 22, and thebar l 29, of the pulley 18 and chain 17, as and for the purposes specified.

5. The combination, with a feeding mechanism consisting of plungers or other carrying devices and one or more hand-bars pro-v vided With connections to said feeding mechanism for operating the same, of a trigger or series of triggers provided with attachments for engaging with the said hand bar or bars,

tions, of a trigger-slide -llaving oblique faces,

with which the said lever is arranged to engage for actuating the first or central trigger or tri ggers, for the purposes set forth.

JAMES `HENRY MCLEAN.

Witnesses:

Ocriivmsl KNIGHT, HARRY E. KNIGHT. 

